Teammate, Friend, Lover
by Hyuchiha Ruki
Summary: I always have tried to look out for Hinata like how a teammate’s supposed to, how a friend’s supposed to…like how a guardian angel’s supposed to… And I’m just glad she wants it to stay that way.' Will Kiba ever be more than Hinata's pal? Requested songfic


**I'm not really a KibaHina fan, but this was a request and I was supposed to post thins eons ago. I apologize to Swords and Bandages, who requested this song fic.**

**The song is 'I Wanna Be' by Chris Brown and, yeah, I've known it for some time now. I like it, actually, and yes, I downloaded it.**

**I hope this'll be an okay fic and enjoy.**

**Please leave a review. Thank you.**

**NOTE: Kiba's Point of View.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or this song.**

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Kiba Inuzuka…

…The loud teammate that acts like he's boss…

…The friend who keeps telling her what to do…

…One of the few who'd bother to revive her if she ever faints…

That's all I probably am to Hinata. Kiba. I'm just Kiba. Beyond the brown locks, red face pain and Akamaru, can't she see anyone else? Anything? Because, to be honest, in all these years, I've seen past the timid, little shrimp they call Hinata Hyuga.

_Look, I know we've been friends for a while now.  
But I just feel I can confess to you.  
It's gone be hard but a'ight here it goes._

"Hey, Kiba!" Shino called to me with his emotionless voice from ahead, "You're falling behind. Hurry up and catch up." He then turned again and continued walking. I don't feel like running ahead them today. The mission also had me beat.

Akamaru whimpered as he nudged me by the hand. He must've realized that something was troubling me. After a sigh, I shook my head and muttered to him with a fake smile, "Go on, Akamaru. I'm walking too slowly. Go on ahead."

Then and there, Akamaru ran forward and caught up with Shino and Hinata. Upon reaching them, he took his position beside Hinata, placing his head under her comforting palm.

Yeah, those two have started to like each other's company so far.

_Imagine if the pillow that you cried on was my chest.  
Every tissue that you wiped your face with was my hand.  
Girl, imagine if you needed advice about some other guy, I'm the one that comes to mind._

And, I guess I've started to appreciate Hinata, too. Sure, she used to be fragile and frail. We couldn't even leave her to train on her own because we were afraid that she'd get hurt. I wouldn't call I belittlement. It's more like… concern.

Look at her now. Look at us now. We've grown and it's like we never even realized it. She's still shy and she still keeps falling over when Naruto's in the perimeter, but she also has learned how to stand up for herself.

And I think that's pretty much when I started to like her too much.

Believe it or not, Hinata's still in love with Naruto. Even when that guy was away, she can't stop thinking and talking about him. I'm supposed to understand, though. You can't stop someone from loving someone, right? I'd be a jerk to.

She just doesn't stop wasting her time with him. He's pretty dense and I don't think he even appreciates what Hinata does for him. What, exactly, does Hinata see in Naruto that makes her think he's worth waiting for?

"Kiba-kun!"

That's her. "Kiba-kun, please hurry!" she called out, stopping her tracks to wait for me, "A-Are you alright? It's not like you to be walking back there… all by yourself."

After a blank look, I made a small grin and said, "I'm fine, Hinata. Just thinking of something, really." Yeah, I'm thinking of you.

With a worried expression, she rushed to my side and with her hands folded adorably, she said, "What is it about, Kiba-kun? Tell me please. Maybe I can help. Perhaps I can do something for you." And there, she shyly smiled.

Before gazing back at her, I took a look at Shino and Akamaru ahead first. They don't seem to mind having Hinata stand by me. "Don't worry yourself," I growled at her, "I'm completely fine. Now, if you don't mind, I—…"

"Don't be like that, Kiba-kun," she squeaked, making her fingers meet again, "Please… tell me what is wrong."

I looked back at her with a touched expression. She really wants to find out.

_Not try'na hear you tell nobody that I'm just a friend.  
Just try'na make sure that I'm that body that you call your man.  
And anytime you need a shoulder...  
It sure not a day...  
What I'm try'na say is I wanna be..._

"Well…" I mumbled, rubbing the back of my head, "Why do you like Naruto so much anyway?"

I couldn't help but ask her. I wasn't jealous… okay, maybe a little. And I also wanted to find out because it just intrigued me. She blushed, red as a beet, before she started stuttering and finally said…

"Naruto-kun inspires me a lot." She admitted, fidgeting yet again, "And I admire him for that." So that's it? Hm, I thought so.

I fell silent when I heard the short explanation. I knew that could be a reason and it turned out that it was. Hinata does need encouragement and inspiration, though. She's like that late blossom in a tree, still the bud when all the other flowers have already bloomed.

So… all this time, I wanted to be who Naruto is.

Nah, I don't want to be a dunce, running around with one of the Sannins, throwing Rasengans and obsessed with becoming Hokage. I wanted to be… someone who Hinata looked up to, someone Hinata liked, someone Hinata wanted to be with…

"But," she added, smiling thinly, "You, Kiba-kun, have saved me a lot of times."

… Huh?

She felt awkward as she said it and she started fidgeting even more, looking away from my gaze. I perked my head and tried to get a glimpse of her face, checking if she had tears in her eyes because of discomfiture. Luckily, she didn't and went on.

Her finger touched her lip as she spoke, "In all those times when you told me to quit when the battle gets tough and in all those times when you said I had to train harder, I thought you said those things because… you demeaned me. But I was wrong, Kiba-kun. You were actually…

…looking out for me."

_The last guy when you call late at night. (Said I wanna be)  
The first one that you dial when you open your eyes.  
Wanna be the one you run to.  
Wanna be the one that ain't gonna hurt you.  
I... (wanna be yeah, wanna be yeah)_

I froze. I never realized that Hinata saw this in me.

"Yeah." It was all I said. What else was I supposed to say, anyway? I brought me pretty speechless, too. I always have tried to look out for Hinata like how a teammate's supposed to, how a friend's supposed to…

…like how a guardian angel's supposed to…

And I'm just glad she wants it to stay that way.

Then, a beam crossed her face. She had a sudden burst of happiness within those sparkling eyes of hers, "And Kiba-kun, because of that, I admire you as much as I admire Naruto-kun."

With those words, I grinned back at her and mouthed a few soft-spoken words, "Thanks, Hinata."

"Kiba! Hinata! Hey!"

We both turned to Shino and eyed him with a wondering look, "What is it, Shino?" I yelled, bearing my teeth in an annoyed manner. Shino pushed his sunglasses back onto the bridge of his nose and said, "How far are we from Konoha?"

"A few hours away, I guess." I estimated clumsily.

"Real helpful, Kiba," Shino sarcastically answered, "Well, if we want to have some energy for tomorrow, we need to take a break somewhere."

Hinata nodded in agreement with Shino and suggested, "Let's rest under a tree for a few minutes. But we have to be alert, too."

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered as I called to Akamaru, summoning him with a wave of my hand. When he was back at my side, I said, "Why don't we just rest here?" I pointed at a spot by a tree's roots, beneath the leaves' shade. Shino nodded and immediately sat somewhere there. Hinata followed.

I was the last to take my place, beside Hinata, since I wanted to make sure that we were safe here.

_Be the man making your girls jealous. (Girl, I wanna be)  
Be the guy shutting down all the fellas. (Ohh)  
Whatever you need, girl, it's all on me.  
Your soldier, your friend or your lover. (Ohh)  
Girl, I wanna be._

Shino had managed to close his eyes behind those black sunglasses of his. He sent some of his parasitic insects to alert us when there's foreign chakra about. With that, he can be secure enough to actually fall asleep.

Akamaru sat beside me, alert as ever. But the old boy looks like he's going to fall asleep anytime. I can't blame my pals. We've been walking in this place for hours. Shino wouldn't admit that we were lost. If Hinata isn't here, we could've been lost forever.

Hinata is lightly napping, leaning her head on me. From what I see, she's definitely tired from healing my wounds when we were working on the mission earlier.

I'm the only one with my eyes open right now. I think even Akamaru has already surrendered and slept.

Looking at Hinata right now, she kinda still looks like a little girl. She's pretty precious to me, I admit. Precious in a way that she's delicate and needs special attention and precious in a way that if anything happened to her, I can't forgive myself.

Those pink, tinted cheeks of hers against her pale complexion always make me want to pinch her. And with those innocent eyes of hers, it's like she can mesmerize me anytime. Her smile is as genuine as it can be.

Really, there's so much more behind the fidgeting and the bashfulness.

Probably, Naruto and I are one of the guys who ever noticed so. Must be why Hinata 'admires' us, too.

But, really, all I want to be to Hinata is the one she'd consider someone so dear and special to her. Maybe I could be more than just Kiba Inuzuka, the teammate to her. I'm glad she sees me as someone who cares, but does she know that I want to be more than that?

I can always look out for her. I'd be the one to hold her hand through everything. I'd be the guy that they'd see going around town with her. People see me and they go say, "That's the guy Hinata loves."

Seriously, if I see Hinata as all that, why can't she see me in that same way, too?

_Would it be cool, would you mind if I called you my boo?  
What if the next whip you was pushing was the one I bought for you?  
Can I be the one that meets your pops?  
And take your momma shopping.  
Baby, you're the one that I... (Wait)  
Have you thought about it? (Wait)  
Really thought about it?  
(Maybe you should take some time)  
(Call your girls and talk about it, yeah)  
Cuz I done already made up my mind.  
Don't need no more time to know if I wanna be wit you.  
I wanna be yeah._

Without much thought, I reached for her soft, tiny hand and just held it. I softly and gently wrapped my fingers around it and just heaved another sigh. When will I get to hold her hand when she's actually awake?

I remember back when we were genin, how she always cried when she fell, how she always passed out whenever Naruto passed by, how she stood up for herself in the Chunin Exams and how I told her to forfeit the match if she ever gets faced with someone dangerous.

She was also there with me, watching Shino fight that puppet guy from Sunagakure in the final round of the Chunin Exams. I was so scared for her when she suddenly fell sick. I thought I'd lose her then and there.

But, nah. Things worked out well.

Am I worth the wait like how she thinks Naruto is?

I'd say I am, but would Hinata think the same way?

And would things be really better off if I told her how I really felt? Will things come out better? Will it change anything? Of course, it would be risking our friendship, but is this a friendship worth risking?

Plus, what am I risking this friendship for? If I do become more than her friend, a lot of things would still be the same. I'd still be watching over her. I'd still be here for her. I'd still be…

…Kiba.

_Put me on your screensaver.  
All over your Myspace and make me one of your top favorites.  
That's where I wanna be.  
The one you're crying for.  
(Standing up for and fighting for)  
Wanna be your good, bad, love, hey girl...  
_

"Hn…"

My eyes grew and quickly, I drew my hand away from hers as she squirmed a little in her position. She blinked her eyes slowly and with a little difficulty. She straightened up and yawned softly.

"K-Kiba?" she mumbled, scratching her eyes, "Did… Didn't you rest?"

"I don't need to." I quickly replied, waking Akamaru up with a shove, "But I guess now that you're awake, we better get going."

Strangely, Shino was still snoring and Hinata and I had to attempt to wake him up several times. We failed thrice and he woke up. But he fell back asleep and I had to get Akamaru to lick him. Once all of us were up and ready to go, we started walking towards the direction of the village again.

I didn't fall behind again this time. I decided to walk by them this time around.

Yeah, by them. That's where I'll always be: beside them, beside my two teammates, beside Hinata.

Hm, I guess I've always been what I wanted be. I didn't want to be someone like Naruto. I can't believe that…

…I was already who I wanted to be:

Hinata's guardian, friend and lover.

"Kiba, snap out of it…"

Shino snapped his fingers in front of my face. I must've spaced out suddenly as I contemplated on my thoughts. Hinata giggled as I blinked back into reality. I laughed along with them and as we walked on, I thought…

'Not today, but one day, I'll tell her.'_  
_

_I wanna be yours.  
I wanna be.  
I wanna be. _

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**I admit that I didn't include a verse of the song becuase it couldn't fit. I hope this was a fine fic and please tell me what you think through a review.**


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